The Press-Dispatch
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NEWS TIPS Phone: ���������������������812-354-8500 Email ����� editor@pressdispatch�net INSIDE Local ��������������� A1-B6 Student Spotlight ���A4 Obituaries ���������������B7 Sports �����������������B1-5 School �������������������� C3 East Gibson������������ C4 History ������������������� C5 Home Life ������������C1-6 Church �������������� D1-3 Opinion �������������D4-5 Classifieds ���������� D6-8 USPS 604-34012 $1.00 28 PAGES Four SECTIoNS Two INSErTS PETErSBurG, IN 47567-0068 Sweetheart SPECTACULAR B8 wEdNESdAy, FEBruAry 2, 2022 PIKE PUBLISHING VoLuME 152, NuMBEr 5 See PRIMARY on page 5 See PLUNGE on page 4 See POT TS on page 5 See COVID on page 5 Jason Potts Robot Skills champions PES 12109B Circuit Jokers display their Robot Skills Champion trophy from the Seymour competition. Robot skills is a combination of driver skills and auton- omous skills. Team members are Corbin Knepp, Avelyn Knepp, Grayson Schul- theis, and Daxyn Yon. See story and additional photos on page A-2. Multiple child porn, solicitation charges filed against Potts Polar Plunge 2022 coming soon By Sherri Sebella Grab your bathing suits and crazy outfits, the 2022 Polar Plunge is coming to Petersburg on Saturday, February 22. You will be freezing for a reason, and that reason is to help raise money for Special Olym- pics athletes' participation costs, such as uni- forms, travel, equipment, overnight accommo- dations and more. "This is our eighth year in Petersburg," Francie Smith, South Regional Manager of Special Olympics, said. "I plunge every year. I'm the last one in, after I get everyone in the water. It really is fun. We have a lot of people that return every year." There are some changes happening this year with the Polar Plunge. One thing is that registration is taking place at Pride's Creek Golf Course Clubhouse in Petersburg. There will also be an "A fter Splash" party at the same location, where food, hot chocolate and a silent auction will take place. Those who will be in- doors will be asked to wear a mask for COVID safety precautions. According to Smith, there are approximate- ly 120 participants already signed up for the special event, "Right now, we have 11 teams signed up," Smith said. "Last year, the num- bers were down, but we are hoping more peo- ple continue to sign up. Registration and fund- raising is also available online." Whether you dip just your toe in the wa- ter, or go all in, the choice is yours. "We even have virtual plungers participating," Smith said. "We do ask them to show up that day if possible so we can get them their T-shirts, because we are unable to mail all the T-shirts More candidates file for May primary election By Sherri Sebella The deadline to officially file as a candidate in the May primary is Friday at noon, for those interested in a county or state office. Locally, positions on the ballot this year in- clude courthouse offices of Sheriff, Auditor, Recorder and Assessor. It also includes the executive position of Commissioner Dist. 2, now held by Mark Flint, who has filed to run again under the Republican party. Many new candidates have filed for a coun- ty or state office since last week's update in The Press-Dispatch. As of today, Mike Goodpaster is on the bal- lot for the Republican party, for Pike Coun- ty Assessor. Judith Kinman Wood Gumbel is seeking to retain her seat as Pike County Auditor for the Republican party. Pike County Council Members on the bal- lot for District 1 include Jared L. Furman and Randy Harris for the Republican party. In Dis- trict 2, Jon W. Craig is on the ballot for the Re- publican party. District 3 has Max D. Elliott for the Republican party listed, and for Dis- trict 4, Travis C. Troutman is listed for the Re- publican party. For the Pike County Recorder seat, Misty Coleman is on the ballot for the Republican party. Pike County Sheriff's Department will re- place current Sheriff Kent Johnson, who has Omicron surge appears to be declining in Indiana By Andy Heuring A Petersburg man is facing five felony counts, including possession of child pornog- raphy and solicitation of a child, after a Face- book tip triggered an investigation. Jason Potts, 47, of 121 W. Pike Ave., Peters- burg, has been charged with count I vicarious sexual gratification, a level 4 felony; count II child solicitation, a level 5 felony; count III child solicitation, a level 5 fel- ony; count IV posses- sion of child pornogra- phy, a level 6 felony; and count V possession of child pornography, a lev- el 6 felony. Facebook identified photos on Pott's account as child porn back in Oc- tober 2021. Facebook then sent a notification to the National Cen- ter for Missing and Exploited Children. Ac- cording to a probable cause affidavit, the NC- MEC reviewed the photos and identified them as child porn, and then they contacted the In- diana State Police. Indiana State Police Troop- er Tanner Hurley then began an investigation and he was able to identify Potts' Facebook ac- count, and located two other accounts he said Potts set up as fake accounts. In January, a series of search warrants were issued by Pike Circuit Court Judge Jeff Bies- terveld. Police did a search of Potts' residence, and seized several devices and searched them. Potts was also interviewed, during which he admitted to having "four accounts," according to the affidavit. It also states Potts initially denied viewing child porn, saying he had never viewed it. "He told us he has had underage images sent to him by people he has 'chatted with on Face- book,' but did not ask for them." Investigators in the affidavit said Potts told them he used two fake names of "Jake Love- less" and "Jack S. Nicolas." He said the Loveless account was for "mess- ing around." It also claimed Potts had sent videos of him- self in a private sex act to children he was talking with on the fake accounts. Police said, from these accounts, they were able to obtain conversations about sex acts be- tween Potts and someone who claimed to be a Early morning fire damages White camper An early Tuesday morning fire reignited, damaging a woodpile, which set off two 30-gallon propane tanks, and spread to an old camper on Hoosier Lane just north of Petersburg. Mike and Jamie White rent a house trailer from Doug Kracht on Hoosier Lane. Petersburg Fire Chief Ross Elmore said White told firemen he had been burning some items earlier in the day on Monday and thought he had the fire out when he went to bed. But then about 2:20 a.m., he woke up and saw the wood pile on fire. Elmore said there were several other items, like a ladder, around the area that burned. "When the propane tanks got hot enough to vent, it really intensified the fire." Firemen were able to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to nearby residences. By Andy Heuring COVID numbers appear to be on their way down in Indiana and other areas of the Unit- ed States. Also, there is new guidance from the CDC for isolation of those who have test- ed positive. Pike County Health Nurse Amy Gladish said on Tuesday there were 232 active cases in Pike County. "However, we know that num- ber is higher due to home testing, which is not reported to the state," said Gladish. She added, "Many people are reporting mild symptoms or flu-like symptoms. We continue to see some individuals with sever symptoms and individuals requiring hospital- ization." Hospitalizations statewide dropped below 3,000 on January 27 for the first time in 2022. They have declined significantly from the all-time peak of 3,519 on January 13 to 2,684 on January 30. Gladish said she had just completed a web- cast with the Indiana State Department of Health, where she was told they are report- ing Indiana was averaging 10,585 cases per day during the past week and that average cases have dropped by more than 3,000 per day, signaling Indiana is coming down from its Omicron surge. In the last seven days, from Jan. 25 to Jan. 31, the number of new cases in Indiana has ranged from a high of 16,875 on Jan. 27 to a low of 3,816 on Jan. 30. Deaths statewide were fairly steady between 39 and 45 from January 25 to Jan 29. On the weekend, the number of deaths dropped to 26 and 11 on Jan. 30 and 31. In Pike County, there has been a significant drop in cases over the last seven days com- pared to the previous seven days. From Jan. 25 -31, there were 163 new cases reported. In the prior week, there were 276 new cases in Pike Co. from Jan. 19 to Jan. 24. Indiana is divided into 10 districts. She said Pike County is in District 10, which is see- ing hospitalizations plateau, but not yet de- creasing. "The CDC changed their guidance for iso- lation of positive individuals, requiring them to isolate at home for at least five days after symptom onset. If symptoms are resolving and they are fever free, they can be around others on days six through 10 with a mask on. We would like to emphasize that masks are required during that time, any time you are around others, including in your home," said Gladish.